These actors fell in love at a Jamaica Plain community theater

On Jul 7, 2026

Before long, she had company: the play’s male lead, Mordecai SooJae Choi, “would happen to be there — with an extra sandwich,” Gabrielle says. After a quick dinner, Mordecai, then 24, would help her practice.

“Gabrielle and I would spend a lot of time together singing, dancing, and being friendly and roller skating,” Mordecai says.

Gabrielle grew up “in an arts family” in Medfield, she says. Her father, a professional trumpet player, and her mother, a dancer, met at the Boston Conservatory. “Arts was a normal thing in our house — like air.

“Acting was what I fell in love with,” she says.

In his youth, Mordecai and his parents were in their Korean Presbyterian church’s choir. He first acted at age 8, when he wrote a play for his third-grade class in Korea. Throughout his high school years outside Nashville, he was in show choir (like a real-life Glee, Gabrielle explains).

Mordecai found himself drawn to Gabrielle’s bubbly disposition. “She was having roommate issues, she was having job issues. But you would never know that from her energy.”

Gabrielle and Mordecai’s romance began when they were castmates during a Footlight Club production of the musical Xanadu.Dan Aguirre Photography

“I got to know that part of her resilience, her spiritual resilience. And I thought that was so attractive.”

One night, he asked her to stay after rehearsal. “There’s a word in Korean: gobaek,” says Mordecai. “It’s like a confession of your feelings.” Their talk took Gabrielle by surprise. She liked him, too — “He’s beautiful, and he is an amazing singer, an amazing dancer — and he can roller skate,” she says with a laugh — but, afraid it would amount to no more than a “showmance,” they agreed not to go on a date until the production was over.

Soon, though, their texting turned into a Saturday morning meet-up at a diner near Gabrielle’s apartment in the South End. After, they walked to Newbury Street, for ice cream at J.P. Licks, then to the BCA Black Box Theatre to watch a matinee before heading on to their own performance that night. Post-show celebrations led them to karaoke with the cast at a local bar — Mordecai sang “American Pie” by Don McLean — then to Gabrielle’s apartment, where they kept the conversation going until sunrise.

The bride and groom brought the drama for guests during their first dance, when they re-created the famous scene from "Dirty Dancing" -- complete with the lift. — The bride and groom brought the drama for guests during their first dance, when they re-created the famous scene from “Dirty Dancing” — complete with the lift. Dan Aguirre Photography

“We talked the whole night — and that was so crazy and natural and just easy,” Gabrielle says. They stayed together that Sunday together, too, ordering pizza and watching the 1976 Barbra Streisand version of A Star is Born.

“That was the 24-plus-hour unintentional date,” Gabrielle says.

After that, “There wasn’t a single day that we weren’t together,” she says. “It was like we went from zero to really incredible.”

About a year later, in December 2023, they traveled to Marina, California, to spend 10 days with Mordecai’s parents, who had relocated from South Korea.

For the day's celebrations, “Gabrielle had an idea of having multiple rooms activate the whole house,” Mordecai says. Cocktail hour, with signature sangrias – the “romcom,” a red version, for her; a white “showmance” for him – was in the library; the service was in a room surrounded in glass. — For the day’s celebrations, “Gabrielle had an idea of having multiple rooms activate the whole house,” Mordecai says. Cocktail hour, with signature sangrias – the “romcom,” a red version, for her; a white “showmance” for him – was in the library; the service was in a room surrounded in glass. Dan Aguirre Photography

“Gabrielle is the first girl that I ever introduced to my parents,” he says. Mordecai’s father was a US Army intelligence officer, and Mordecai and his family lived until he was 4 on a US military base in South Korea. He spent time with his grandmother in the US after the September 11 attacks, while his father was deployed overseas, returning to Korea for his elementary school years, before heading back to this country.

Along with his parents in California, Mordecai and Gabrielle hiked in nearby Monterey, frequented church services, and enjoyed Korean meals. (Does she know how to use chopsticks? his parents had asked.)

Mordecai’s traditional parents had a lot more questions for the pair.

“It made us think [and answer] as a couple,” Gabrielle says.

“The religion side of things was the biggest culture shock for me.” She’d been raised in a loose blend of Catholic and Jewish traditions.

“It really opened up some of the more serious stuff at that stage after being together about a year,” Mordecai adds. “I think it really solidified us.”

The following summer, in June 2024, the couple moved in together, in Newton.

Before proposing, Mordecai sat down with Gabrielle's parents. “'Fiddler on the Roof' is a big deal in my family,” says Gabrielle. “It's a Jewish musical. It's about tradition. My dad's not Jewish but he always quotes Teyve,” she says. True to the musical, Mordecai asked Gabrielle’s father for his blessing, rather than his permission, to marry her. — Before proposing, Mordecai sat down with Gabrielle’s parents. “’Fiddler on the Roof’ is a big deal in my family,” says Gabrielle. “It’s a Jewish musical. It’s about tradition. My dad’s not Jewish but he always quotes Teyve,” she says. True to the musical, Mordecai asked Gabrielle’s father for his blessing, rather than his permission, to marry her.
Riley Flynn

Gabrielle was now a publicist for The Huntington; Mordecai, who graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology, does design work for a Boston construction company.

Mordecai took Gabrielle rock climbing; she introduced him to classical music concerts.

“We both love cooking. We both love trying new things,” says Gabrielle, who follows Korean chefs online.

“We we do a mix of Western, Korean, and Jewish food. I’ve fallen in love with matzah,” Mordecai says.

By that fall, the couple was ready to take the next step.

On December 12, 2024, Mordecai asked Gabrielle if she’d pick him up from rehearsal at the Footlight Club.

But there was no rehearsal.

The couple traveled to Korea last year with Mordecai's parents. While there, they took part in a re-creation of a traditional wedding ceremony, and are shown wearing hanbok at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Korea. — The couple traveled to Korea last year with Mordecai’s parents. While there, they took part in a re-creation of a traditional wedding ceremony, and are shown wearing hanbok at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Korea.@calla_n_lounge

He had set up 10,000 rose petals leading to the stage, which was decorated with tea candles. The theater’s spotlight illuminated the spot where they had first laid eyes on each other.

As she walked into an otherwise-dark theater, Mordecai hit play on an acoustic Beatles track, her favorite band. “Then I see the flowers and the candles . . . and he’s in the middle, looking perfect, and I burst into tears,” she says.

The couple knew they wanted to incorporate Korean and Western elements into their wedding. Mordecai designed a double-sided invitation, one side in English, the other in Korean, with a watercolor etching of the venue. The groom also designed a wedding website in both languages.

For their March 27 ceremony and reception, they chose the Willowdale Estate, an Arts and Crafts mansion in Topsfield.

The bride’s mother used a mix of fresh and silk flowers to create the bouquets, adding norigae, a decorative Korean knot that symbolizes longevity and health.

The ceremony was punctuated by live music. Gabrielle’s sisters, her matrons of honor, sang, while one of Mordecai’s two best men accompanied on acoustic guitar.

Mordecai’s great uncle, a retired Korean Presbyterian reverend, married them, in a dual-language service in front of 75 guests. He spoke about the force of magnets, and how opposites can find power in each other.

The bride's dress drove the color scheme, with the bridesmaids in light blue to play off the embroidery in Gabrielle's gown. — The bride’s dress drove the color scheme, with the bridesmaids in light blue to play off the embroidery in Gabrielle’s gown.Dan Aguirre Photography

Mordecai’s other best man read a Shakespearean sonnet, in a nod to Gabrielle, who traced his footsteps while studying in the UK. A sister of the groom did the classic Corinthians reading, in Korean.

“There was so much laughter and music and love — just a real blend of families that day,” Gabrielle says.

A bowing ceremony, part of the traditional Korean wedding custom pyebaek where the newlyweds bow to the parents of the groom, followed.

The couple later did a traditional cake-cutting, feeding pieces of the Viennese chocolate walnut mousse cake to each other. At the top of the cake sat a small statue of a pair of ducks. “In Korean culture, it’s believed that ducks mate for life,” Mordecai says.

The bride carried neutral flowers, accented with a handmade Korean knot. Dan Aguirre Photography

Read more from The Big Day, the Boston Globe’s weddings column. Recently married or engaged? Apply to have your wedding featured.

Carrie Simonelli can be reached at carrie.simonelli@globe.com.

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